School Board Election Heats Up as Four Candidates Are a No-Show at Friday Night’s Forum
On Friday, April 28th, the School Board Candidate Forum took place in person at the MRCS old gymnasium as well as online. All candidates were invited to attend.
Community members were able to hear from four of the eight candidates running for the school board about their goals and vision for the future of the McKenzie Community Schools. 4 candidates declined to attend.
All of the candidates were provided six predetermined questions for Friday’s forum a week in advance. Those questions were:
1. Describe your personal experience and involvement with the public schools within the past five years that qualifies you as a school board member.
2. What are the top three challenges our students face in this district? What do you see as the top three critical issues facing a teacher in the classroom today?
3. How can we assure that our district is actively recruiting and retaining qualified teachers and school employees?
4. What ideas do you have to continue and/or improve community involvement in the schools?
5. Are there any current courses or programs that you believe should be added to or deleted from the curriculum?
6. What role should the school board have in dealing with perceived controversial topics taught in the classroom?
Although not a traditional debate, each candidate that attended was able to provide community members with a clearer understanding of where they stand if elected to the school board. Of the 8 candidates running, only 4 were present at the forum on Friday evening.
The four candidates present at the forum were Danna Brownell (Position 1), Sarah MacKenzie (Position 2), Alyssa Brownlee (Position 3), and Jason Wickizer (Position 5).
Taya Brock (Position 1), Kail Harbick (Position 2), Max Metcalfe (Position 3) and Justin Barker (Position 5) were not present at the forum.
Barker released a written response online while Brock, Harbick, and Metcalfe did not answer the questions.
In regards to the candidate forum that was held on Friday, Brownell, MacKenzie, Brownlee, and Wickizer agreed on many issues currently facing our school system. Safety and security, emotional health and wellness of the students, updating the building for more comfortable classroom environments, and better pay, benefits, housing opportunities, and culture for staff were a few of the topics discussed among the candidates.
The four candidates agreed on many topics for Question 2 that the top three challenges facing students and teachers in the classroom are emotional health and wellness for students and staff, safety and security for students, and better classroom resources for teachers.
- MacKenzie specifically mentioned bullying as a top issue, while
- Brownlee and Wickizier talked about life skills for the students that will benefit them after graduation.
For question 3, Recruiting and Retaining Qualified Teachers, everyone agreed that teachers need better pay, better benefits, and better schedules. Wickizer would like to integrate mental health care professionals for the school that would benefit both the staff and students. Brownell highlighted the importance of fostering an energetic and collaborative school culture with access to professional development opportunities for teachers. MacKenzie advocated for a sensible bus route from town to the school to help teachers who commute.
Eric Plews moderating the forum. Photo by Jen Wickizer.
Question 4, on Fostering Community Involvement had a variety of ideas from the four candidates. Their responses to improve community development were:
- Wickizer – Include all cultural holiday events, traditions, and gatherings open for students, staff, and community members to attend
- Brownell – Adding community service programs, volunteer coordinators, and supporting any activities that foster interconnectedness between the community and the school.
- MacKenzie – Invite professionals across multiple platforms to connect with the students, encourage parents to engage and mentor during school events, and uplifting student projects that benefit the community.
- Brownlee – Integrating communication between the school and community in print and online platforms and finding a way to serve the community outside of school resources.
All of the candidates had great ideas for courses and programs to be added to the current curriculum. All four agreed that a course on financial literacy would greatly benefit the students.
- MacKenzie believes that the more ideas and concepts the better and mapping out a more individualized instruction for students would provide greater success.
- Brownell mentioned adding additional language courses, mental health classes, first aid, and behavioral science courses.
- Wickizer would like to see the shop program expand with the help of Lane Community College as well as adding an auto-shop class, and home economics.
- Brownlee wants to include more web and graphic design courses to the curriculum.
As for the final question, What Role Board Should Play in Dealing with Controversial Topics in the Classroom, all four candidates believe that there should be complete transparency between teachers, staff, students, and parents about perceived controversial topics taught within the classroom.
- Brownell and Brownlee both believe that the teachers are professionally trained, conscientious, and respectful about what is appropriate for their classrooms and if there were any issues about what is being taught, parents should feel welcomed to discuss their concerns.
- Brownell offered the idea of alternative assignments available to students.
- MacKenzie believes that parents can opt their child out of a class that they feel is too controversial.
- Brownlee believes that controversial topics should not be avoided, but parents have the right to be informed of the curriculum and be offered options.
- Wickizer advocates for respectful cooperation between all parties and to focus on what’s best for the community.
McKenzie Education Association sponsored the public forum. The teachers of the McKenzie Education Association would like to endorse the following candidates for the 2023 school board election:
Position 1 – Danna Brownell
Position 2 – Sarah Mackenzie
Position 3 – Alyssa Brownlee
Position 5 – Jason Wickizer
Many have expressed concern over the 4 who declined to attend the forum on Friday and speak with community members about their views and ideas for the positions they’re running for.
It was the hope of many that their attendance and participation in answering the questions at the forum would dispel worries – or at the very least make the candidates’ intentions transparent to the voters.
More information about each candidate can be found in the Lane County Voters Pamphlet. Justin Barker’s written response to the six questions can be found on his Facebook page as well as in the Blue River Bulletin Board.
Taya Brock, Kail Harbick, and Max Metcalfe did not provide any response to the questions, but they have made statements on the Blue River Bulletin Board as well as the Voters Pamphlet.
Ballots are due by May 16th, 2023. More information on how to vote can be found on the Lane County Elections website.